BCH & Powertech – New language on banking of Annual Vacation and RWWL days

During this round of bargaining, the parties agreed to changes to banking of Annual Vacation and RWWL days.  Your Union and the employer are now in a dispute as to when the new banking rules will come into effect.

BC Hydro’s position is that the new banking rules would come into effect this year.  The Union disagrees as the scheduling date of March 31, 2020 for annual vacation and RWWL days could not be met since ratification of the new collective agreement did not occur until after the scheduling deadline date.

The new language in the collective agreement is as follows:

Article 11.01 (g)

2. All RWWL days must be scheduled by March 31^st to be taken by the end of the current year. An employee may request to re-schedule RWWL days with approval from their manager and subject to operational requirements.  This does not apply to shift employees where RWWL days are pre-scheduled. 

Any remaining unscheduled RWWL days will be scheduled by the manager.

Any RWWL days not taken in the year they were earned must be scheduled to be taken by March 31^st in the following year or transferred to a group RRSP by March 31^st.

Nothwithstanding the above, in the event there is any remaining RWWL balance as of March 31^st in the following year it will automatically be paid out at the employee’s base wage rate as of March 31^st.

Article 14.07

(a)          All annual vacation must be scheduled by March 31^st to be taken by the end of the current Year.  An employee may request to re-schedule these vacation days with approval from their manager and subject to operation requirements.

Any remaining unscheduled annual vacation days will be rescheduled by the manager.

Any annual vacation days not taken in the year they were earned must be scheduled to be taken by March 31^st in the following year or transferred to a group RRSP by March 31^st.

Notwithstanding the above, in the event there is a remaining annual vacation balance as of March 31^st in the following year it will automatically be paid out at the employee’s base wage rate as of March 31^st.

(b)          Employees with 5 years or more of service will be permitted to bank up to one week of vacation and take in in the following year or later.

(c)           Employees are not permitted to bank vacation in excess of what is allowable in paragraph (b) Above based on their total years of service.

                For example:  An employee with 11 years of service can bank up to one week of vacation for Six (6) years of service for a maximum of six (6) weeks of banked vacation.

BC Hydro has advised that they will be implementing the new banking rules this year and will be updating their system so that any unused annual vacation and RWWL days will be paid out in April 2021.

The bargaining committee has met to discuss the employer’s interpretation on implementing the banking changes this year.   Our position is that the employer did not explicitly communicate that they intended to split the implementation of the new language over two years.  First being that the March 31^st deadline would not come into effect until 2021,  and second that the banking rules would come into effect based on 2020.

The new collective agreement was signed off very late in the evening of March 9, 2020 and the only reference to the employer changing their position is on the first page of the Memorandum of Agreement.

While the Union does not agree with the employer implementing the new banking rules in 2020 the employer is moving forward.

Therefore, the impact to members is that you must schedule all of your annual vacation and RWWL days to be taken this year or prior to March 31^st 2021 or they will be paid out.  If you are not sure if your time bank is in excess of what is allowed per article 14.07 (b) please review your time bank balance.

If you have any questions please contact your job steward or email your bargaining committee at bchbargaining@moveuptogether.ca.

In solidarity,

Your Bargaining Committee:
Anderson Charles, Bargaining Committee Member
Calvin Jonas, Bargaining Committee Member
Rajesh Singh, Bargaining Committee Member
Roger Trip, Bargaining Committee Member
Barbara Junker, Lead Negotiator
Cheryl Popeniuk, Senior Union Representative
Rysa Kronebusch, Vice-President Utilities